4 ms·

Seems like it would still be better to switch off a gas plant and replace that with geothermal, etc. IF the nuclear staton is still in good working order of cou

• epistasis 4y ago
  First, they are also adding far more generation to get rid of gas, that's part of the IRP process that's happening right now, and the law SB 100 mandated a fast changeover. The Diablo Canyon nuclear plant does not meet old laws on the use of once-through-cooling, laws that grandfathered in existing licenses, but required new operating licenses to meet the environmental rules. 15 years ago, the utility started evaluating the cost of fixing the cooling situation, and found that it was not economical. Which led to the 2015 decision to not extend the license, and replace DC with renewables, geothermal, storage, and hydro. Even if it were cheaper to retrofit the cooling, there's a strong technological argument to instead invest in new technologies. Every bill on dollars invested in these new technologies makes them cheaper and drives down prices for future installs. However spending billions on cooling does nothing to improve future construction efficiency. Nuclear power is less a technology than it is a construction project. We do not gain efficiency in construction when we build more nuclear infrastructure.